A semitruck driver who crashed into a parked van, killing seven farmworkers, was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 50 years in prison.
The van was carrying 11 farmworkers when it was parked alongside Interstate 5 near Albany on May 18, 2023. The crash killed seven people and seriously injured three others. One person suffered injuries considered to be minor.
On Feb. 5, 2025, a jury unanimously found the driver, 54-year-old Lincoln Smith of California, guilty on seven counts of second-degree manslaughter. Each count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of six years and three months in prison.
Smith was also found guilty of three counts of third-degree assault and one count of reckless driving.
On Tuesday, Marion County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Wren sentenced Smith to a total of 48 years and 3 months in prison, without eligibility for early release.
Family members of the killed workers gave emotional testimony during Smith’s trial, according to the Salem Statesman Journal. Some told the court they had come to the U.S. seeking a better life, and had struggled to explain the deaths of parents to their children.
Smith testified during the trial that he had spent the night before the crash using drugs and had fallen asleep at the wheel before colliding with the farmworkers' van.